


Like the Dawn

by claudiarya



Series: A Glimpse in the Lives of Lucie and Jesse [3]
Category: The Last Hours Series - Cassandra Clare, The Shadowhunter Chronicles - All Media Types, The Shadowhunter Chronicles - Cassandra Clare
Genre: A Glimpse in Their Lives, Angst and Feels, Declarations Of Love, F/M, Feels, I Love You, Mentioning of demonic rituals, Possible Scenario, Post-Book 1: Chain of Gold, Romance, Somehow Sherlock Holmes is relevant, What-If, Young Teenagers in Love, london calling, love declaration, romantic feelings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-20
Updated: 2021-02-20
Packaged: 2021-03-16 05:23:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,275
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29570994
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/claudiarya/pseuds/claudiarya
Summary: Lucie managed to bring Jesse back from the dead, but what's in store for her now?Third and final installment of my series A Glimpse in the Lives of Lucie and Jesse.From the text:“Lucie.” A voice called her. She started a bit at the sound of her name, but then turned around and saw him. Jesse Blackthorn was standing at the other end of the library, just past the door, that he had shut close again. She was surprised to see him there… they hadn’t had really any time to speak or to be alone, despite everything they had been through."
Relationships: Blackdale - Relationship, Heronthorn - Relationship, Jesse Blackthorn/Lucie Herondale, Lucie x Jesse - Relationship
Series: A Glimpse in the Lives of Lucie and Jesse [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2150013
Comments: 3
Kudos: 11





	Like the Dawn

**Author's Note:**

  * For [clary1835](https://archiveofourown.org/users/clary1835/gifts), [crimsonblue](https://archiveofourown.org/users/crimsonblue/gifts).



> Hello there! I'm back with another Blackdale story because I just love to write about them. With only 11 days left until Chain of Iron I was motivated to give my own interpretation of how I would have liked their story to go, even thought I'm sure Cassie Clare's version will blow us out of the water!
> 
> I'm obsessed by the fact that in Lord of Shadows we find out about little things concerning the Last Hours' characters, so yeah, I tried to tie it all up as best as I could.
> 
> English is not my first language, so I apologize in advance for any mistakes. The ff was inspired by the song Like the Dawn by The Oh Hellos, their music works like magic for my writing.
> 
> If you feel like it, I would really appreciate if you leave comments and kudos. 
> 
> Thank you and enjoy!

_I was sleeping in the garden_ _  
When I saw you first  
He'd put me deep,  
Deep under so that he could work  
And like the dawn  
You broke the dark and my whole earth shook_

Darkness all around. The girl was floating in the dark, unaware of anything, if not for the fact that she was scared – oh so scared, bordering on panic. Was that really her body or did it belong to someone else? She couldn’t tell. The only thing she was sure of was that there was no way to come out of this darkness. It completely surrounded her. The pitch-black atmosphere didn’t even allow her to see her body, so that the only indication of her being alive… of her being, was this fleeting conscience keeping her in the spot. She tried to turn her head, or what she believed to be her head. Nothing. When the girl started feeling as if the darkness was engulfing her, making her a part of itself by entering even that spark of vitality that had gotten her stuck here in the first place, something happened. One minute she was being drag under into the abyss, and the next she was brought back to the surface.

With a gasp she woke up. Something, or someone had destroyed the darkness which had taken a hold of her. Breathing rapidly, she looked around. The first thing she noticed were a pair of startling green eyes, peering down at her with concern. They were so familiar and still she couldn’t recall to whom they belonged to. His hair was black, and the girl wondered if they would feel as smooth as they looked if she were to touch it. Strong arms were holding her tightly, as if they were afraid of letting her go. She realised only later that it was the same boy with the green eyes and the silky hair who was embracing her.

“Lucie?” his voice trembled; the worry reflected in his eyes coloured his tone as well.

_Lucie?_ She thought to herself, not finding the strength to speak.

Was that her name? After a moment of confusion, she remembered everything.

The ritual, this boy, her saying goodbye to him.

She had been so willing to give everything up for him. If he was kneeling beside her, cradling her body could it mean that – she had made it. The ritual had worked.

However, if it had worked, why was she still alive? It wasn’t possible.

Lucie raised a trembling hand, that simple action alone seemed impossible to accomplish, as if her rooted fatigue had made her forget even how to perform the easiest of actions. Her fingers finally found his features, and she managed to brush away a stray tear cascading down his face.

He was here, he was alive, he was in his mortal body again.

“Jesse,” she croaked, her vocal cords barely working.

“Am I dead?” she continued, not believing what she was experiencing.

“No, you’re not dead.” The boy replied, while tightening his hold on her wrist and bringing her hand to cup his face. The tenderness of that simple gesture made her want to sit up and engulf him in a hug. Instead, she just could admire him from where she was, overwhelmed by the adoration she glimpsed in those green orbs.

“Jesse,” she repeated. “You’re here, you’re really here!” she cried out, bending her fingers in a light caress.

“I’m here,” he echoed a bit brokenly because of the half sob coming out from his chest. “I’m really here, and all thanks to you.”

Lucie closed her eyes, the exhaustion she sensed taking full possession of her body.

She had done it. She had saved Jesse.

***

The ceiling of the London Institute library was nothing special, just a blank canvas, but still Lucie reprimanded herself for not noticing that part of the room before. She had never paid any attention to it until now, and she was sorry about it.

When she had been in the room, she usually had her head bent on a book or scribbling away as if she couldn’t write fast enough.

As she lay down on the floor, arms and legs opened to her sides, not unlike when as a kid she used to making snow angels in Idris, she realised that there was some rare beauty in looking at places, even if well known, from a different perspective. It was like walking in a city and seeing that the upper parts of the buildings in the streets told a complete different story of the city itself.

Lucie sighed, wishing she had noticed all these little details of the Institute in all the years she had lived there. Wasn’t it cruel that she did only now, now that she was never going to set foot into the place again? How many things had she missed all around? How many nooks and crannies hold secrets that could have been of some inspiration for her stories?

Readjusting her position on the floor, in an attempt to shake off the slight numbing sensation of her – ehm derriere, Lucie raised her right arm above her head, while the other came to rest on her stomach. Her vision mark stood out clear and dark as the first day she had taken it, then lowered her limb with a deep sigh.

So, that was going to fade, too... just another element in her life she had taken for granted.

If someone had asked her not even a year ago how she imagined her life as a _Shadowhunter_ would end, she wouldn’t have even imagined thinking about being stripped of her marks.

Yet here she was, Lucie Herondale 17-year-old, laying on the floor of her institute, waiting just for that. They were stripping her marks, tomorrow. Her crime? Well, suffice it to say that her shenanigans with her grandfather had been enough, and on top of that she had literally brought someone back from the dead, so she could see why the council had resourced to that decision.

Her parents had been devasted by it, all of it, but the girl didn’t regret anything she had done, because in the end it had helped to save Jesse. Now, it was his turn to live at his fullest, unlike how it had been impossible for him to do before.

Without realising it, her lips took the form of a sad smile. She wasn’t supposed to survive the ritual, so when she had started meddling with powers bigger that what she had ever thought, she hadn’t imagined a future with Jesse, a future that now she could see so clearly, but that was slipping every minute more out of her reach. Once she became human, she would not be allowed to visit the people whom she cared about the most.

Lucie suspected that it was all thanks to Will, Tessa, and her aunt Charlotte, that she was now resting on the floor of the library instead of being secluded in a cell in Idris, to be left to rot away, alone and forgotten.

They had put her there to wait. After a tearful departure from her family and friends she had asked if she could be left alone for a while, not needing them to break any more rules for her than what they had already done. The only one missing had been Jesse himself…

The hardest thing about not being a _Shadowhunter_ anymore was the fact that alongside with that life, she was going to say goodbye forever to the prospect of being Cordelia’s _parabatai_. Oh, how much did they cry when the Enclave had taken their decision of stripping her of her marks.

Nevertheless, Cordelia had never blamed Lucie for her decisions, decisions that had brought them to that. On the contrary, she had embraced her tightly reassuring her that she would have done the same for James.

Yes, their chance at being bonded warriors had been stolen from them, but both Cordelia and Lucie were sure that their bonded souls would never stray too far from one another. No matter the adversities, they were going to find a way to be part of their respective lives.

Lucie sighed, for the hundredth time that day. It was strange. After all the crying, she now found her eyes completely dry. Was it because she had made peace with her upcoming fate? Maybe so. Or maybe she had nothing else left to loose and that was why she was relatively calm now.

The girl pushed herself on her elbows to get up. Soon, she would have to turn on the lights that had been installed in the room, as the day was slowly coming to its end. The position of the sun made so that the high windows and rows of shelves casted long shadows on the floor. Lucie started looking at books’ titles, occasionally passing a finger on those covers that attracted her the most, to see how they would feel. The leather covers were cool under her touch, even though, if she was honest with herself, she had always preferred the ones with golden engravings on them. After scanning and testing a whole row, she found herself in front of a different kind of shelf. It was more of a glass cabinet, actually, its glass planes containing some special editions. It was also the spot in which her parents always placed their favourite books after finishing them. It was one of their many little rituals, Lucie supposed.

She opened the door carefully, as if she was afraid of intruding. Lucie’s eyes got caught on a title in particular. _Sherlock Holmes._ The golden engravings on the covers said. A corner of her mouth lifted while reaching for the book.

How she had loved these books as a child. Her father used to read them for her in front of a blazing fire when she wasn’t old enough to do so. Once she had acquired that particular skill, which was pretty much essential within her family, if not necessary, she had devoured every single work by Conan Doyle. The author had always been one of her major inspirations for her writing.

Lucie took the book and went sitting on a cushioned bench under one of the big windows of the library, taking advantage of the last hours of the day. She started reading, but after a while her attention settled on the world outside. Being on the second floor, the library provided a really nice view. She turned completely to better look out. The warm orange of the setting sun made the usually very gray London more vibrant. It was as if the city had caught fire, and the flames were alimenting new life instead of destroying it.

The girl rested her chin on her hands. Where was she going to go after tomorrow? Was she going to leave this city, in which she would share the same air as her loved ones, but without being able to share her life with them? Perhaps she could travel, visit all the places she had always wanted to visit. She could go to America, to see where her mother had grown up. Lucie was so engrossed with the thoughts swirling in her mind so fast that she didn’t hear that someone had opened the door to enter the room.

“Lucie.” A voice called her. She started a bit at the sound of her name, but then turned around and saw him. Jesse Blackthorn was standing at the other end of the library, just past the door, that he had shut close again. She was surprised to see him there… they hadn’t had really any time to speak or to be alone, despite everything they had been through.

They looked at each other for an indefinite amount of time, both studying the other, as if they couldn’t get enough of it.

The boy approached her, real steps, of a real body. Not the evanescent movements of a ghost; not anymore.

Lucie stood up from her seat by the window, meeting him halfway.

“What are you doing here?” she asked him, voice low, her surprise palpable.

She then frowned, remembering that there was no need to whisper, because he was here, he was appearing in her room at night as he had done many times before.

“I came to see you. To talk to you. I had to.” Jesse replied, shrugging lightly as if he was stating the obvious. His words reminded Lucie of not so long ago, when she had gone to his resting place to say goodbye.

He was facing the window and the depth of his green eyes absorbed every bit of light from outside, making them shine.

The girl knew if things had gone differently, she would have never tired to look at them.

“What did you want to talk about?” Lucie prompted him, after another pregnant silence and more staring.

“I wanted to thank you,” Jesse started. “For everything you have done for me in all these months.” He stepped even closer, their feet almost touching now.

If she were to reach her hand and touch his hair, the soft features of his face, would she overstep?

“And I wanted to apologise for how I treated you the last time we saw each other.” He finished.

“There’s no need. For neither your gratitude nor your apologies. I’m just glad you’re here, safe and sound.” She said, while casting her gaze down. Her hand tightened into fists. She didn’t think she could bear to look at him for too long. A deep sadness rose from deep down of her.

How was she supposed to keep on living without her family, without Jesse to accompany her every step of the way?

Warm fingers lifted her chin, tilting her head up. For a split second, she was taken aback by the foreign sensation. In the last months they had always yearned to be able touch the other, and now that it was happing, it felt just right.

Jesse’s face was so close, that Lucie could feel his warm breath on her face.

_So that’s how it feels._ She thought to herself, as a potent blush flooded her cheeks.

“What is it, Lucie? Tell me what’s wrong.” Jesse breathed, eyes never leaving her.

Taking the hand that was still holding her chin in hers, Lucie stepped back.

“Apart from the obvious fact that I’m getting my marks stripped tomorrow?” She asked, trying to make it sound as a joke, and failed.

“Apart from that, yes.” He echoed her, frowning concerned.

She took a deep breath, gathering the courage to tell him.

“I’ve never thought that I was going to survive the ritual, so I didn’t really think about what would await me after it was done.” She explained him, looking down at their intertwined hands.

“But now I’m here. And I don’t know what I’m going to do after tomorrow. Where I’m going to go… It’s like I’m walking right into a fog bank, and I can’t see which direction I’m taking. And I’m afraid that wherever I’m going, I’ll end up alone.”

The girl raised her gaze once again, trying to see Jesse’s reaction. He was peering down at her with the same expression as before, his emotions visible.

“You’re not alone, and never will be.” He said, squeezing her hand in a reassuring gesture.

“How can you be so sure?” She asked.

“Because, if you’ll have me, I’ll be by your side.” Was Jesse’s reply. The look in his eyes was so intense that she almost averted hers again. Almost.

“I’m not sure what you mean?”

“Lucie, I want you to listen to me very carefully: I want to come with you, wherever you are going. I don’t care. As long as we are together, it is going to be fine.” Jesse stated, and after a brief second, “That of course, if you want me with you.” He finished.

Lucie could not believe what she was hearing. Jesse, the boy she had started to grow so fond of in all those months, and that had populated her dreams ever since he had saved her in Idris, the boy with whom she had shared so much, wanted to be with her, even after everything she had done? 

And here he was, offering her everything she had ever wanted, or she had ever hoped in all those lonely hours after he had visited her, waiting for a new day to dawn: the chance at a future with him.

She blinked, trying to clear her thoughts. After the first moment of excitement at hearing him saying those words, she took consciousness of what they meant. He was giving up his life as a _Shadowhunter_. She frowned, somewhat feeling guilty of not having thought about it sooner.

“If you come with me…” was her barely hearable start. “If you come with me –now louder – you’re giving up your life as a _Shadowhunter_ ,” she said, coming to the full realisation of it.

“Yes, but I –”

“I can’t let you do this, Jesse. Not for me. You deserve a chance to start over, I can’t let you squander it, not after you’ve just got back what have been so unrightfully be stolen from you.” Lucie shook her head forcefully while taking a step back. With that, her hand left his grasp.

A cold sensation at the lack of contact immediately pervaded her.

“Lucie, please.”

How was it possible that every time that he said her name it was like his life depended on it?

The Blackthorn boy closed the distance separating them once again, and slowly, oh so slowly, he brought his arms up and placed them on her shoulders, giving her the time to step further back to avoid the contact.

Lucie let him. Every touch shared with him a new sensation she was perhaps too eager to find out how it felt.

“I’m really grateful for everything you did to bring me back, but I don’t wish for a life as a _Nephilim_ , if you’re not there with me.” He stated, and his voice was irremovable.

“I- I don’t understand,” she mumbled.

“Ever since you’ve entered my life, I found myself looking for you all the time. Your presence, your wittiness, your sharp mind, and your kindness, have been an anchor during all these months. When the start of a new day would take me away from you… it was a torment. I couldn’t wait for it to be night again, so just I could spend it in your company. And so, I selfishly thought that if you were to find a way to bring together, I wanted to spend the rest of my life with you.” Jesse finished, breathless as if he had run a marathon.

“Jesse.” Lucie found herself capable of only saying his name, her heart swelling with emotions at his words.

“What I’m trying to say,” he started again, while tenderly cupping her face with his palm, “Is that I’m in love with you Lucie Herondale. If you’ll want me, I’ll be by your side, no matter what.” His thumb caressed her cheekbone, sending shivers down her spine. She still couldn’t believe that they could touch like this, unafraid of feeling just thing air.

Outside the sun had dimmed, casting the room in a mystical atmosphere that only twilights can create. Despite the scarce light, Jesse’s eyes seemed to shine even more than they had in the sun. His green irises, were asking her all that he couldn’t express at loud. Lucie thought that he had never been so beautiful like in this moment. Her eyes descended on his parted lips, as did his. Lucie looked one last time straight into his orbs, before timidly closing the little distance separating them. She leaned in towards his face, feeling his warm breath, and finally, going on her tiptoes she kissed him.

She didn’t know what to expect. Sure, in her stories she had always included romance, making a big deal out of the first kiss shared between her main characters, but this… this was everything and nothing as she had imagined it.

Jesse was startled at first, but after a second he brought his other arm around her waist, linking them in a tender embrace. Her fingers found the soft locks of his hair. How many times had she dreamed about passing her hand through it?

And now, now she was doing it, it wasn’t just a hopeless fantasy.

His soft mouth moved gently against hers, deepening the kiss. This close against his body she could feel his once still heart, drumming against his chest, beating in perfect harmony with her own.

When the air started to lack, they separated. They were both breathing fast, while they studied each other features.

“Should I take that as a yes?” Jesse’s brow raised jokingly.

“Mmm I don’t know.” She replied, and pecked his lips once again, before saying with a shrug “I had to make sure.”

“Oh, I’m sure you did,” it was him who placed another kiss on her mouth now.

“Yes, Jesse. All the things I did so far, I did them because, in these months I had come to the realisation that I love you! There’s no anyone else I would want to share my life with.” She said then, expressing her intentions.

He grinned, and the smile made him appear like the young boy he was.

In an outburst of happiness, Jesse took her by the waist and started to spin, their laughter and giggles echoing in the room. When he put her down, she had a smile so big that her cheeks had started to hurt.

How was it possible that the day had been both the worst and best of her young life?

But here wrapped in Jesse’s arms, Lucie couldn’t help but think that she could endure everything if it meant that she could continue on caring and taking care of this boy.

“You know what?” He asked her, his head laying atop of hers made so that his voice rumbled around her, through her.

“What?” she prompted him.

“We should freeze this moment in time.” She gasped, surprised at how he used the same words she had used so many months ago in her room.

“And how do you suggest we do that?”

“I think I have a few ideas.” He said, taking a step back and looking at her.

Jesse looked around and noticed the small writing desk in a corner of the library. A fountain pen and paper were already on top of it, as if they had been waiting to be used by them all this time.

He went for it, and sat down. Lucie followed him, curious to see what he was going to do.

With her arms crossed she watched as he took the elegant pen, and carefully started writing.

A simple word: _Herondale._ Her surname. The boy turned to her and grinned once again while he offered her the pen. She widened her eyes, understanding dawning on her. Lucie gently reached for his extended hand putting hers own on top of his. It was almost comical, her small palm trying to engulf his much bigger one, but she brought their connected limbs down on the paper, hanging over his shoulder, and in a flourish looped another word with the one already present: _Blackthorn._

Lucie and Jesse, looked at one another, a small smile gracing their features.

The girl thought that without meaning to, they had already inaugurated their own little ritual, just like her parents with the cabinet in the library. 

“There,” she said. “Frozen in time.”

“Yes. Frozen in time,” he echoed.

It was almost completely dark now, but neither paid attention to it anymore. They passed it as they always did, talking and enjoying the new found company of the other.

No barriers of any kind could separate them now.

***

Kit scouted the room. Some parts of the rotting Blackthorn Hall, still held up despite the years of neglect, and it was the case of the library. Its blue walls and ceilings were cracked but still possessed a kind of attraction over anyone stepping into it. He could feel Livvy and Ty going through the objects, searching for something, anything. Kit spotted an old desk, and approached it. Poking from a corner was a small piece of paper, yellowed and frail due to the passing of time.

Opening it he was surprised to find something written inside, not just something but his surname, _Herondale_ , looped around another: _Blackthorn._ The two names were intertwined, as if who had written them down had decided that also their lives would be inextricably connected.

Without knowing why, he tucked the paper in his pocket.

_Herondale and Blackthorn,_ he thought, _just like Ty and I._

He felt a small blush rising to his cheeks, when turning around he saw the boy in question with his head down, intent on looking at something with his green-grey scrutinizing eyes.

Maybe one day Kit and Ty’s lives were going to be inextricably connected as the two people of the paper. Maybe…

_Bones of my bones and flesh of my flesh, at last_ _  
You were the brightest shade  
Of sun I had ever seen  
Your skin was gilded with  
The gold of the richest kings  
And like the dawn  
You woke the world inside of me  
You were the brightest shade  
Of sun when I saw you  
And you will surely be the death of me  
But how could I have known?_

**Author's Note:**

> This is it. The end of their journey from my personal perspective! Thank you for reading and I can't wait to read Chain of Iron, I'm sure the waiting was worth it. 
> 
> If you want, I have a Tumblr and Twitter account, in which I mainly post about bookish stuff. 
> 
> Twitter: @/claudiarya1  
> Tumblr: @/ claudiarya


End file.
